On The Verge

The District Attorneys

Athens/Atlanta, Ga.
Plain Cheese Pizza
www.thedistrictattorneys.bandcamp.com

This quintet of Georgia twentysomethings self-describes its music as “plain cheese pizza,” laughs T.J. Mimbs (guitar/keyboards/vocals). “We have an Americana-folky-bluesy-raw kind of thing—but in the end, we write pop songs.” The District Attorneys formed in late 2009 but knew each other from high school in Atlanta and from the University of Georgia. The group released its first EP Orders From… nationally in February (produced with the help of friends and local Athens band Futurebirds ). “I’m 23 years old so I haven’t experienced a ton of things in my life,” says co-founder/singer/songwriter Drew Beskin. “The vast majority of songs come from a hypothetical place—movies, stories and characters we all can relate to.” While the D.A.s moniker comes from a Batman reference, the group also draws inspiration from the Athens music scene, ‘90s alternative, early Sheryl Crow and The Replacements. “With [famed Athens venue] the Georgia Theatre being gone, the music scene is still awesome but it’s evolved into something that a lot of people wouldn’t recognize,” says Mimbs, adding that his lyrics are “more a way of looking toward the future than remembering the past or concentrating on the present.”